Initiating a video conferencing session

ABSTRACT

A method, computer program product, and computer system for receiving, at a computing device, a call from a first telephony device using a telephone number associated with a second telephony device and a web-based user account. An indication of the call is received at the computing device where the web-based user account is signed into. An input is received at the computing device to accept the call. A conferencing application session associated with the web-based user account is initiated at the computing device between the first telephony device and the computing device based upon, at least in part, receiving the input to accept the call.

BACKGROUND

The Internet currently allows for the free exchange of ideas andinformation in a manner that was unimaginable only a couple of decadesago. One such use for the Internet is as a communication medium, whetherit is via one-on-one exchanges or multi-party exchanges. For example,two individuals may exchange private emails with each other.Alternatively, multiple people may participate on a public website inwhich they may post entries that are published for multiple people toread. Examples of such websites may include but are not limited toproduct/service review sites and topical blogs. One such use of theInternet is to allow people to video conference with each other. Asvideoconferencing adds a video component to a communication session,such communication sessions may tend to be more enjoyable for theparticipants. However, it may be necessary for the computing device thatis capable of performing the video conference to initiate thecommunication session.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one implementation, a method, performed by one or more computingdevices, comprises receiving, at a computing device, a call from a firsttelephony device using a telephone number associated with a secondtelephony device and a social network user account. An indication of thecall may be received at the computing device where the social networkuser account may be signed into. An input may be received at thecomputing device to accept the call. A conferencing application sessionassociated with the social network user account may be initiated at thecomputing device between the first telephony device and the computingdevice based upon, at least in part, receiving the input to accept thecall, wherein the conferencing application session includes real-timevideo and audio capabilities between the first telephony device and thecomputing device.

In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor and amemory configured to perform operations comprising receiving, at acomputing device, a call from a first telephony device using a telephonenumber associated with a second telephony device and a web-based useraccount. An indication of the call may be received at the computingdevice where the web-based user account may be signed into. An input maybe received at the computing device to accept the call. A conferencingapplication session associated with the web-based user account may beinitiated at the computing device between the first telephony device andthe computing device based upon, at least in part, receiving the inputto accept the call.

One or more of the following features may be included. The conferencingapplication session may include at least one of real-time video andaudio capabilities between the first telephony device and the computingdevice. The conferencing application session may be initiated in abrowser at the computing device. The web-based user account may includea social network user account. The telephone number may be assigned tothe conferencing application session. The telephone number may beassigned to the web-based user account. The conferencing applicationsession may persist without any participants present. The telephonenumber may be forwarded to the computing device. The telephone numbermay be received, at least in part, via a public switched telephonenetwork. The conferencing application session may enable mutation of theconferencing application session.

In another implementation, a computer program product resides on acomputer readable storage medium that has a plurality of instructionsstored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising receiving, at a computingdevice, a call from a first telephony device using a telephone numberassociated with a second telephony device and a web-based user account.An indication of the call may be received at the computing device wherethe web-based user account may be signed into. An input may be receivedat the computing device to accept the call. A conferencing applicationsession associated with the web-based user account may be initiated atthe computing device between the first telephony device and thecomputing device based upon, at least in part, receiving the input toaccept the call.

One or more of the following features may be included. The conferencingapplication session may include at least one of real-time video andaudio capabilities between the first telephony device and the computingdevice. The conferencing application session may be initiated in abrowser at the computing device. The web-based user account may includea social network user account. The telephone number may be assigned tothe conferencing application session. The telephone number may beassigned to the web-based user account. The conferencing applicationsession may persist without any participants present. The telephonenumber may be forwarded to the computing device. The telephone numbermay be received, at least in part, via a public switched telephonenetwork. The conferencing application session may enable mutation of theconferencing application session.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a conferencing processcoupled to a distributed computing network according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a client electronic device of FIG. 1according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative flowchart of the conferencing process of FIG.1 according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the conferencing process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a screen image displayedby the conferencing process of FIG. 1 according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be described in greater detail below, a first user may desire tostart a video conferencing session, such as the type offered by socialnetworking sites, with a second user. Video conferencing may enablemultiuser video conferences that allow for virtual gatherings of peopleso that they may chat about specific topics. When receiving a phone callfrom a second user using, e.g., a phone number provided by, e.g., atelecommunications service, the first user may generally only answer iteither from within a chatting application or have the phone callforwarded to a preselected device. The conversation thus may result in a1:1 interaction that may be restricted to audio and may not be mutated.Additionally, the first user may start a video conferencing session froma client electronic device (e.g., a PC), and then “dial out” to thesecond user's phone (e.g., data enabled mobile device, smart phone,etc.) from the video conferencing session to achieve the ability toconference with both video and phone participants. However, while thesecond user may use their phone to be invited to the video conferencingsession, there may not be a known technique for the second user to usetheir phone to initiate the video conferencing session. To help remedythis example deficiency, the present disclosure describes examples ofhow a user may use their phone to initiate the video conferencingsession. It will be appreciated that while a particular videoconferencing application is described, other examples of videoconferencing applications may be used without departing from the scopeof the disclosure. As a non-limiting example, any video conferencingapplication that provides, e.g., a combination of VOIP and Video Chats(or the like), may be used.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown conferencing process 10 that mayreside on and may be executed by a computer (e.g., computer 12), whichmay be connected to a network (e.g., network 14) (e.g., the internet, alocal area network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), etc.).Examples of computer 12 (and/or one or more of the client electronicdevices noted below) may include, but are not limited to, a personalcomputer(s), a laptop computer(s), mobile computing device(s), a servercomputer, a series of server computers, a mainframe computer(s), or acomputing cloud(s). Computer 12 may execute an operating system, forexample, but not limited to, Microsoft® Windows®; Mac® OS X®; Red Hat®Linux®, or a custom operating system. (Microsoft and Windows areregistered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States,other countries or both; Mac and OS X are registered trademarks of AppleInc. in the United States, other countries or both; Red Hat is aregistered trademark of Red Hat Corporation in the United States, othercountries or both; and Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvaldsin the United States, other countries or both).

As will be discussed below in greater detail, conferencing process 10may receive, at a computing device, a call from a first telephony deviceusing a telephone number associated with a second telephony device and aweb-based user account. An indication of the call may be received at thecomputing device where the web-based user account may be signed into. Aninput may be received at the computing device to accept the call. Aconferencing application session associated with the web-based useraccount may be initiated at the computing device between the firsttelephony device and the computing device based upon, at least in part,receiving the input to accept the call.

The instruction sets and subroutines of conferencing process 10, whichmay be stored on storage device 16 coupled to computer 12, may beexecuted by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) included within computer 12. Storage device 16may include but is not limited to: a hard disk drive; a flash drive, atape drive; an optical drive; a RAID array; a random access memory(RAM); and a read-only memory (ROM).

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; an intranet; or a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN); for example.

Computer 12 may execute a collaboration application (e.g., collaborationapplication 20), examples of which may include, but are not limited to,e.g., a web conferencing application, a video conferencing application,a voice-over-IP application, a video-over-IP application, video chattingapplication, or other application that allows for virtual meeting and/orremote collaboration. Conferencing process 10 and/or collaborationapplication 20 may be accessed via client applications 22, 24, 26, 28.Conferencing process 10 may be a stand alone application, or may be anapplet/application/script that may interact with and/or be executedwithin collaboration application 20 and/or one or more of clientapplications 22, 24, 26, 28. Collaboration application 20 may be a standalone application, or may be an applet/application/script that mayinteract with and/or be executed within conferencing process 10 and/orone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. One or more of clientapplications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be a stand alone application, or may bean applet/application/script that may interact with and/or be executedwithin conferencing process 10 and/or collaboration application 20.Examples of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may include, but are notlimited to, e.g., a web conferencing application, video conferencingapplication, voice-over-IP application, a video-over-IP application,video chatting application, or other application that allow for virtualmeeting and/or remote collaboration, a standard and/or mobile webbrowser, an email client application, a chatting application, a textualand/or a graphical user interface, a customized web browser, a plugin,or a custom application. The instruction sets and subroutines of clientapplications 22, 24, 26, 28, which may be stored on storage devices 30,32, 34, 36 coupled to client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44, may beexecuted by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) incorporated into client electronic devices38, 40, 42, 44.

Storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36 may include but are not limited to: harddisk drives; flash drives, tape drives; optical drives; RAID arrays;random access memories (RAM); and read-only memories (ROM). Examples ofclient electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 (and/or computer 12) mayinclude, but are not limited to, a personal computer (e.g., clientelectronic device 38), a laptop computer (e.g., client electronic device40), a smart phone (e.g., client electronic device 42), a notebookcomputer (e.g., client electronic device 44), a tablet (not shown), aserver (not shown), a data-enabled, cellular telephone (not shown), atelevision (not shown), a smart television (not shown), a media (e.g.,video, photo, etc.) capturing device (not shown), and a dedicatednetwork device (not shown). Client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 mayeach execute an operating system, examples of which may include but arenot limited to, Android™, Apple® iOS®, Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, or acustom operating system.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of conferencing process 10(and vice versa). Accordingly, conferencing process 10 may be a purelyserver-side application, a purely client-side application, or a hybridserver-side/client-side application that is cooperatively executed byone or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/or conferencingprocess 10.

One or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured toeffectuate some or all of the functionality of collaboration application20 (and vice versa). Accordingly, collaboration application 20 may be apurely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or ahybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperativelyexecuted by one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/orcollaboration application 20. As one or more of client applications 22,24, 26, 28, conferencing process 10, and collaboration application 20,taken singly or in any combination, may effectuate some or all of thesame functionality, any description of effectuating such functionalityvia one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, conferencingprocess 10, collaboration application 20, or combination thereof, andany described interaction(s) between one or more of client applications22, 24, 26, 28, conferencing process 10, collaboration application 20,or combination thereof to effectuate such functionality, should be takenas an example only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access computer 12 and conferencing process 10(e.g., using one or more of client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44)directly through network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further,computer 12 may be connected to network 14 through secondary network 18,as illustrated with phantom link line 54. Conferencing process 10 mayinclude one or more user interfaces, such as browsers and textual orgraphical user interfaces, through which users 46, 48, 50, 52 may accessconferencing process 10.

The various client electronic devices may be directly or indirectlycoupled to network 14 (or network 18). For example, client electronicdevice 38 is shown directly coupled to network 14 via a hardwirednetwork connection. Further, client electronic device 44 is showndirectly coupled to network 18 via a hardwired network connection.Client electronic device 40 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14via wireless communication channel 56 established between clientelectronic device 40 and wireless access point (i.e., WAP) 58, which isshown directly coupled to network 14. WAP 58 may be, for example, anIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth™ device that iscapable of establishing wireless communication channel 56 between clientelectronic device 40 and WAP 58. Client electronic device 42 is shownwirelessly coupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 60established between client electronic device 42 and cellularnetwork/bridge 62, which is shown directly coupled to network 14.

Some or all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocoland carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e.,CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may usephase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying(i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. Bluetooth™ is a telecommunicationsindustry specification that allows, e.g., mobile phones, computers,smart phones, and other electronic devices to be interconnected using ashort-range wireless connection.

Referring also to FIG. 2, there is shown a diagrammatic view of clientelectronic device 38. While client electronic device 38 is shown in thisfigure, this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to bea limitation of this disclosure, as other configurations are possible.For example, any computing device capable of executing, in whole or inpart, conferencing process 10 may be substituted for client electronicdevice 38 within FIG. 2, examples of which may include but are notlimited to computer 12 and/or client electronic devices 40, 42, 44.

Client electronic device 38 may include a processor and/ormicroprocessor (e.g., microprocessor 200) configured to, e.g., processdata and execute the above-noted code/instruction sets and subroutines.Microprocessor 200 may be coupled via a storage adaptor (not shown) tothe above-noted storage device. An I/O controller (e.g., I/O controller202) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 with variousdevices, such as keyboard 206, pointing/selecting device (e.g., mouse208), custom device (e.g., device 215), USB ports (not shown), andprinter ports (not shown). A display adaptor (e.g., display adaptor 210)may be configured to couple display 212 (e.g., CRT or LCD monitor(s))with microprocessor 200, while network controller/adaptor 214 (e.g., anEthernet adaptor) may be configured to couple microprocessor 200 to theabove-noted network 14 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).

As discussed above and referring also to FIGS. 3-5, conferencing process10 may receive 300, at a computing device, a call from a first telephonydevice using a telephone number associated with a second telephonydevice and a web-based user account. An indication of the call may bereceived 302 by conferencing process 10 at the computing device wherethe web-based user account may be signed into. An input may be received304 by conferencing process 10 at the computing device to accept thecall. A conferencing application session associated with the web-baseduser account may be initiated 306 by conferencing process 10 at thecomputing device between the first telephony device and the computingdevice based upon, at least in part, receiving the input to accept thecall.

For instance, conferencing process 10 may receive 300, at a computingdevice (e.g., client electronic device 38), a call from a firsttelephony device (e.g., client electronic device 42) using a telephonenumber that may be associated with a second telephony device (not shown)and a web-based user account. For instance, assume for example purposesonly that a first user (e.g., user 50) may desire to start a videoconferencing session (e.g., via client electronic device 42 andcollaboration application 20, client application 26, or combinationthereof), with a second user (e.g., user 46) (e.g., via clientelectronic device 38 and collaboration application 20, clientapplication 22, or combination thereof). The conferencing applicationsession may include at least one of real-time video and audiocapabilities between the first telephony device (e.g., client electronicdevice 42) and the computing device (e.g., client electronic device 38).Other features, such as, e.g., application interaction, file sharing,muting each other, etc. may also be included.

In some implementations, user 50 may via client electronic device 42“dial” an identification (e.g., the above-noted phone number) associatedwith the second telephony device of user 46. In some implementations,the telephone number may be received 300, at least in part, via a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN). However, it will be appreciated thatthe use of a PSTN should be taken as an example only and not to limitthe scope of the disclosure. In some implementations, the telephonenumber may be assigned to the web-based user account by conferencingprocess 10. For instance, as will be discussed in greater detail below,user 46 may be registered as a user of a system, company, etc., allowingaccess to services such as but not limited to, e.g., email, instantmessaging, telecommunications, social networking sites, etc. or the likeoffered from other systems, companies, etc. In the example, thetelephone number may be assigned to the main web-based user accountoffering the above-noted service(s) for user 46, and therefore may beassigned to any of the above-noted services, e.g., a telecommunicationsservice (e.g., capable of call forwarding and communications with otherclient electronic devices) or the like. The telecommunications mayenable, e.g., PC-PC voice and video calling, and PC-phone calling.Additionally/alternatively, the telephone number may be different thanthe one assigned to the second telephony device by the mobile serviceprovider. For instance, assume for example purposes only that thetelephone number provided by the mobile service provider of the secondtelephony device is 555-456-7890. In the example, the telephone numberof the second telephony device may be, e.g., 555-765-4321.

Continuing with the above-example, the telephone number may be forwardedto the computing device. For instance, assume that user 46 has atelephone number that is set up to forward communications (e.g., phonecalls, texts, etc.) to another client electronic device (e.g., clientelectronic device 38). As such, when user 50 (e.g., via clientelectronic device 42) makes a call using the 555-765-4321 numberassociated with the second telephony device of user 46, the call may bereceived 300 by conferencing process 10 at, e.g., the second telephonydevice, and forwarded to client electronic device 38.Additionally/alternatively, the call may be received 300 by conferencingprocess 10 at client electronic device 38 without first being directedtowards the second telephony device.

As noted above, the telephone number that may be associated with aweb-based user account. In some implementations, the web-based useraccount may include a social network user account. For example, user 46may be registered as a user of a company and/or system allowing accessto any of the above-noted example services or the like. It will beappreciated that other social network user accounts may be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure.

In some implementations, an indication of the call may be received 302by conferencing process 10 at the computing device where the web-baseduser account may be signed into. For instance, and continuing with theabove example, further assume that user 46 via client electronic device38 may be signed into at least one of the above-noted services, whichmay include “chatting” abilities (e.g., text, audio/video). In responseto receiving 300 the call (e.g., using the 555-765-4321 number), clientelectronic device 38 may receive 302 an indication that the call hasbeen received 300. In some implementations, the indication may include,e.g., pop-up window 400 generated at a user interface of conferencingprocess 10 via display 212. The indication may include an audioindication, such as a “ringing” commonly used with telephony devices. Insome implementations, some or all client electronic devices where user46 may be signed into the web-based user account may receive theindication. The second telephony device may also include an indicationthat the call is (being) received 300.

In some implementations, an input may be received 304 by conferencingprocess 10 at the computing device to accept the call. For example,pop-up window 400 may include text indicating that one or more users(e.g., user 50) may be requesting to initiate a video conferencingsession with user 46, as well as the caller ID (e.g., phone number) ofuser 50. User 46 may use, e.g., cursor 402, to either accept the requestor decline the request. It will be appreciated that the design of theuser interface (e.g., pop-up window 400) is for example purposes onlyand should not be taken to limit the scope of this disclosure.

In some implementations, a conferencing application session associatedwith the web-based user account may be initiated 306 by conferencingprocess 10 at the computing device between the first telephony deviceand the computing device based upon, at least in part, receiving 304 theinput to accept the call. For instance, assume for example purposes onlythat user 46 uses cursor 402 to accept the call (e.g., request from user50 to initiate the conferencing application session). In response,conferencing process 10 may initiate 306 (e.g., launch) the conferencingapplication session between client electronic device 42 and clientelectronic device 38 and answer the call.

In some implementations, the conferencing application session may beinitiated 306 in a browser at the computing device. For instance, assumefor example purposes only that the above-noted services where user 46may be signed into are accessed via a web browser (e.g., via clientapplication 22) on client electronic device 38. The conferencingapplication session may be initiated 306 within one or more of theabove-noted services (in the browser) where user 46 may be signed into.Additionally/alternatively, the conferencing application session mayinitiate 306 within a new window in the browser. As such, theconferencing application session may be “tied into” the above-notedservices, which users typically remain signed into throughout the day.In some implementations, since conferencing application session 500 maybe initiated 306 in a browser, initiation 306 of conferencingapplication session 500 may not require installation of client software(e.g., such as the client software that may be required from othercollaboration applications). In some implementations, user 46 may usecursor 402 to either accept the request or decline the request withinthe browser. An example conferencing application session (e.g.,conferencing application session 500) generated and initiated 306 byconferencing process 10 is shown at FIG. 5.

In some implementations, the conferencing application session may beinitiated 306 automatically without requiring receipt 304 of theabove-noted input. As such, the description of receiving 304 an input toaccept the call to initiate conferencing application session 500 shouldbe taken as an example only.

In some implementations, the conferencing application session may enablemutation of the conferencing application session. For example, onceconferencing application session 500 is launched, user 46 and user 50may talk, and user 46 may mutate conferencing application session 500by, e.g., inviting other participants to join in via phone or video.

As noted above, the telephone number may be assigned to the web-baseduser account by conferencing process 10. Additionally/alternatively, thetelephone number may be assigned to conferencing application session 500by conferencing process 10 and conferencing application session 500 maypersist without any participants present. For example, some conferencingapplication sessions, may not persist beyond the period there are peoplein the session. That is, the “room” used to conduct conferencingapplication session 500 may not exist until someone enters it. However,in some implementations, conferencing application session 500 may existwithout anyone currently participating in the session. In the example,conferencing process 10 may assign each session a different phone numberthat participants (e.g., PSTN participants) may call directly to jointhe session. For instance, instead of user 50 calling user 46, user 50may call the room used to conduct conferencing application session 500.In some implementations, this may enable user 50 to be the first personin the session where user 50 may wait for user 46 or others to join.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product.Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware implementation, an entirely software implementation (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an implementationcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer-usable, orcomputer-readable, storage medium (including a storage device associatedwith a computing device or client electronic device) may be, forexample, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a media such as thosesupporting the internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even bea suitable medium upon which the program is stored, scanned, compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, acomputer-usable or computer-readable, storage medium may be any tangiblemedium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connectionwith the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Thecomputer readable program code may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including but not limited to the internet, wireline, opticalfiber cable, RF, etc. A computer readable signal medium may be anycomputer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage mediumand that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. Java and all Java-basedtrademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracleand/or its affiliates. However, the computer program code for carryingout operations of the present disclosure may also be written inconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language, PASCAL, or similar programming languages, as wellas in scripting languages such as Javascript or PERL. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof apparatus (systems), methods and computer program products accordingto various implementations of the present disclosure. It will beunderstood that each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, mayrepresent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one ormore executable computer program instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s)/act(s). These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computerprogram instructions, which may execute via the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create theability to implement one or more of the functions/acts specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.It should be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block(s) may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed (not necessarily in a particularorder) on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions/acts (not necessarily in a particular order)specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks orcombinations thereof.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting of thedisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps (notnecessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order),operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications,variations, and any combinations thereof will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe disclosure. The implementation(s) were chosen and described in orderto best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the disclosure for various implementation(s) with variousmodifications and/or any combinations of implementation(s) as are suitedto the particular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to implementation(s) thereof, it will beapparent that modifications, variations, and any combinations ofimplementation(s) (including any modifications, variations, andcombinations thereof) are possible without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, at a computing device executing a conferencing applicationthat enables a real-time, multiuser communication session, a telephonecall from a first telephony device associated with a first user, thetelephone call: (i) being initiated by the first user dialing atelephone number assigned to at least one of the computing device and aweb-based user account of a second user, and (ii) corresponding to arequest from the first user to participate in a one-to-one telephoneconference with the second user, wherein the second user is signed intothe web-based user account at the computing device; outputting anindication of the telephone call at the computing device; receiving aninput at the computing device to accept the telephone call via theconferencing application; and in response to receiving the input toaccept the telephone call via the conferencing application, initiating aconferencing application session associated with the web-based useraccount at the computing device between the first telephony device andthe computing device.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the conferencing application session includes at least one ofreal-time video and audio capabilities between the first telephonydevice and the computing device.
 3. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the conferencing application session is initiated in abrowser at the computing device.
 4. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the web-based user account includes a social networkuser account.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thetelephone call is forwarded to the computing device from a conferencingprocess residing on a separate computing device.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, once initiated, theconferencing application session persists without any participantspresent.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thetelephone call is received, at least in part, via a public switchedtelephone network.
 8. A computing device including a processor and amemory, the computing device executing a conferencing application andbeing configured to perform operations comprising: receiving a telephonecall from a first telephony device associated with a first user, thetelephone call: (i) being initiated by the first user dialing atelephone number assigned to at least one of the computing device and aweb-based user account of a second user, and (ii) corresponding to arequest from the first user to participate in a one-to-one telephoneconference with the second user, wherein the second user is signed intothe web-based user account at the computing device; outputting anindication of the telephone call; receiving an input to accept thetelephone call via the conferencing application; and in response toreceiving the input to accept the telephone call via the conferencingapplication, initiating a conferencing application session associatedwith the web-based user account between the first telephony device andthe computing device.
 9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein theconferencing application session includes at least one of real-timevideo and audio capabilities between the first telephony device and thecomputing device.
 10. The computing device of claim 8, wherein theconferencing application session is initiated in a browser at thecomputing device.
 11. The computing device of claim 8, wherein theweb-based user account includes a social network user account.
 12. Thecomputing device of claim 8, wherein the telephone call is forwarded tothe computing device from a conferencing process residing on a separatecomputing device.
 13. The computing device of claim 8, wherein, onceinitiated, the conferencing application session persists without anyparticipants present.
 14. The computing device of claim 8, wherein thetelephone call is received, at least in part, via a public switchedtelephone network.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving a plurality of instructions stored thereon, which, when executedby a computing device having one or more processors, cause the computingdevice to perform operations comprising: receiving a telephone call froma first telephony device associated with a first user, the telephonecall: (i) being initiated by the first user dialing a telephone numberassigned to at least one of the computing device and a web-based useraccount of a second user, and (ii) corresponding to a request from thefirst user to participate in a one-to-one telephone conference with thesecond user, wherein the second user is signed into the web-based useraccount at the computing device; outputting an indication of thetelephone call; receiving an input to accept the telephone call via theconferencing application; and in response to receiving the input toaccept the telephone call via the conferencing application, initiating aconferencing application session associated with the web-based useraccount between the first telephony device and the computing device. 16.The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the conferencingapplication session includes at least one of real-time video and audiocapabilities between the first telephony device and the computingdevice.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theconferencing application session is initiated in a browser at thecomputing device.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereinthe web-based user account includes a social network user account. 19.The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the telephone call isforwarded to the computing device from a conferencing process residingon a separate computing device.
 20. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein, once initiated, the conferencing application sessionpersists without any participants present.